‘Big Bang Data’ exhibition at Somerset House, London

• Who is this post for? Anyone interested in understanding how the growth in collection and use of data is impacting our lives
• What does it discuss? A new exhibition on the subject at Somerset House, London
• How does it benefit you? A fascinating outing for your weekend!

Yesterday I paid a visit to Somerset House to see a major new exhibition at Somerset House, ‘Big Bang Data’.  In the show, artists, designers and innovators show and discuss how the increased capture and usage of data is impacting our lives now and how it may do so in the future.

It’s a deeply fascinating show – sometimes wonderfully inspiring, sometimes horribly alarming. You need not be interested in the science of data collection and usage, simply interested in understanding what you know of who knows what about you, and how that information is used. For that reason alone I would heartily recommend, even say it’s vital that you take any children in your family whose ages have now reached double figures – it’s crucial that they take on this level of understanding as they start to use mobile devices, apps and social media. Here’s some pics I snapped along the way:

Datafied global representations of things like freedom of the press and credit ratings:

Take control of London’s future by making choices on how to plan its resources:

A horribly poignant visualisation of who really suffers in wartime:

And perhaps the key message for those who believe data is the answer to all our problems:

Do let us know what you think of the show after you’ve been!

Is a smart toy a smart option this Christmas?

• Who is this post for? Parents of children
• What does it discuss? The pros and perils of buying a smart toy
• How does it benefit you? Balanced perspective on whether a smart toy is the right choice for you and your child

If you’re a parent there’s a good chance you noticed a story that appeared mid-November about the company Vtech, a major player in the kids’ toys business. Vtech had its database hacked and had personal information stolen from 6.4 million (!) children’s accounts. The stolen information, which was not encrypted, included names, email addresses, passwords, secret questions and answers for password retrieval, IP addresses, postal addresses, download histories and children’s names, genders and birthdates.

If a toy is called ‘smart’ then it’s very likely to be connected to the Internet in some way. IT security, however, is not a traditional area of expertise for toymakers thus leading to some IT security experts calling the ‘internet of Toys’ the ‘Wild West’. There are also concerns that information shared with such toys are ultimately used for advertising and marketing purposes. The activist group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood recently analysed Mattel’s new ‘Hello Barbie’ toy and said “When Barbie’s belt buckle is held down, everything your child says is transmitted to cloud servers, where it will be stored and analysed by ToyTalk, Mattel’s technology partner.” Mattel did respond by saying that no conversation history was stored and data would never be used for advertising purposes.

We do however believe there are many benefits to smart toys if toy companies can rigorously address their gaps in IT security. The company Elemental Path is soon to release a toy dinosaur that learns the best way to interact with your child and answer his/her questions. For example, if a child asks it “How far away is the moon?”, a five-year-old will get a different answer to an eight-year-old. Donald Coolidge, head of business strategy at Elemental Path said “One of the reasons we built the dinosaur was because kids ask so many questions and we wanted to build something so that they could continue to ask questions and make up stories”

What are your views on smart toys? Friend or foe (or somewhere in between!)?

What to do if your business’ website is hacked?

• Who is this post for? Small business owners
• What does it discuss? How to prevent against and deal with your business website being hacked
• How will you benefit? Saved money, saved reputation, peace of mind

Last week the BBC reported on a Glasgow hairdressing firm being held to ransom by hackers.

No doubt the experience is terrifying. Firstly, the threat can’t be seen. Secondly, most don’t know how to deal with the situation.

Therefore it’s worth taking a look at this handy article that points out five key steps business owners can take to prepare for and deal with such a scenario. Please do share any tips or stories you have if having dealt with similar situations.